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2 Years

Yesterday
was our 2-year anniversary. It has been 2 amazingly great years.
We have experienced so many things that we wouldn’t have experienced without each
other. When I sit back and think about all that we have done in these 2 years
it feels like I am thinking back on a remarkable book, that was written by an
author with an incredible imagination. Because who could have thought about all
the things we have done.

First of
all, who would have thought that a half Norwegian, half Swedish boy and a
Turkish girl would decide to settle on Paris as their city to live in. Of
course, for us it’s the natural choice but if you’d asked me 3 years ago where
I would be today there is no way I would have said that I would be in a
domestic partnership with a Turkish girl, in Paris.

It’s not only
that I wouldn’t have seen all the places I have seen, like all the different
parts of Istanbul and Turkey, but there are so many things that I would never
have done if it weren’t for Simay. She takes the borders of my comfort zone and
tears them down like a 5-year-old tears off the wrapping paper on his birthday
gift. I can’t even keep count on how many ways she has expanded my horizons, if
its challenging the way I see things or trying new food, new clothes, or a new
art exhibition (Although some of them didn’t really fit my taste: Centre Pompidou).
She makes me believe in myself. She is my personal Kevin Garnett, always
telling me that “anything is possible”.

Even the simplest of things becomes extraordinary with her. She always goes
that extra mile to make an ordinary thing a little special. It can be anything
from finding a good song playlist and lighting candles when we’re having
breakfast, to adding an extra ingredient to a traditional Croque Madame.
Going to see a handball or football game gets better with her. The passion that
she shows for a thing that she never had a connection to prior to our
relationship puts a smile on my face every time. I remember when we went to the
world cup semi-finals in handball, and she got enough of the Croatian fans
making all the noise so she decided to start the Norwegian cheer we taught her a
couple of hours before the game. All the Norwegians in our section joined in
and it created an additional component to the whole experience.

I will
never forget the first time I beat her at backgammon. It was a close game, and
we didn’t know who would win until I rolled the dice and got exactly what I
needed to win. The passion and anger on her face (with a couple of Turkish swear
words from her lips) told me that I had met my match. She tried to pretend like
it didn’t happen but she couldn’t hide her will to win, even in a simple thing
like backgammon. Her competitiveness told me that even though a long-distance
relationship wouldn’t be an easy thing, she wouldn’t let it go just like that.
She would fight for us and make it work, and it did.

So thank you, Simi. Thank you for all the memories you have given me and for
all the memories we will create in the future. I love you!